The present invention generally relates to operating room equipment, and more particularly, to a medical grade stereo system.
A study published in JAMA in 1994 demonstrated increased performance and decreased stress in surgeons when they listen to music that they enjoy. Since this study was published, stereos are seeing increasing prevalence in some operating rooms.
According to some operating room environmental standards, electrical devices employed in an operating room environment should not emit electrical and/or radiofrequency signals that interfere with the function and operation of other equipment. It is known that where some prior art electrical devices produce an excessive current leakage, the likelihood of a burn to a patient may occur during a short circuit.
Medical devices should also conform to infection control capabilities for cleaning and disinfection. Additionally, while not necessarily dictated by environmental standards, one may want to control the use of music in an operating room as its presence may interfere with the audibility of patient monitors and alarms, for example, a pulse oximeter and an apnea alarms which produce audio signals when in operation.
It is known to use existing residential or commercial grade audio systems and mobile audio components in an operating room environment. Mobile audio components may be housed within the line isolation electrical panel which is located about the periphery of the operating room or may be free-standing and portable in their factory manufactured condition where power is obtained from a power supply mounted outside the operating room. Stereos built into the line isolation electrical panel are fixedly mounted into the walls and, thus are not freestanding. In set ups where the power supply is remotely mounted, the wires supplying a 12 volt DC current may be routed through the walls. Stereos connected to a remote power supply may sometimes use an ungrounded chassis of greater than 10 volts. Ungrounded chassis are known causes of electrocution by short circuiting. Additionally, personnel may use different mobile audio devices each requiring their own electrical connections and each of which may not take into account the operating room environment.
For instance, one example of a medical grade electrical device is a video router with an integrated audio function for hearing audio files associated with the video output. Currently known video routers do not typically incorporate a radio tuner. Additionally, video routers may include multiple pieces of equipment which are not typically housed in a single enclosure.
It is also known to augment a stereo device in the operating room with satellite feed capabilities. This may require adding another piece of equipment to the existing equipment with external adaptor connections, in order for the satellite radio signal to be decoded by the satellite radio tuner. Additionally, bringing in one's own, non-medical grade equipment may overlook the safety of an operating room environment by neglecting the need for safety in connecting a reliable A/C power cord into the room's electrical line.
As can be seen, there is a need for a medical grade stereo system conforming to operating room environmental standards, and specifically, one that may integrate multiple audio sources into a single package.